Mapping the conceptual structure of ergonomics, musculoskeletal disorders, treatment and return to work in manual jobs: A systematic review

BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal disorders constitute one of the major health problems of workers exposed to manual work throughout the world. Nevertheless, there is no study that maps its conceptual structure based on a systematic methodology. OBJECTIVE: To identify the conceptual structure of ergonomics, MSDs, treatment and return to work in manual jobs in the last 12 years by applying a systematic co-word network analysis methodology which describes the replicability of the search filters and emphasizes the rigor that has to be followed in the creation of the network. METHODS: The search filter was customized for each bibliographic database, and followed the PRISMA 2020 flowchart for the screening process. For the creation of the network, the titles, abstracts, and keywords were used as the unit of analysis extracting the noun phrases of the first two units. In the normalization process, the terms of the search filter were deleted and their associated terms, and standardized the similar terms. Regarding the plotting of the network, Vosviewer was used applying the network settings based on content analysis. RESULTS: The co-word network shows three communities: Ergonomic assessment and workplace intervention tools, factors related to rehabilitation and return to work, and physical and mental overload management. For each community, there is a framework that explains the relationship within terms. CONCLUSION: This study is aligned with the replicability, robustness, and relevance recommendations in the implementation of rigorous scientometric studies. The occupational health community is encouraged to implement scientometric studies following a rigorous methodology and working in interdisciplinary team.